


Dancing on a the Head of a Pin

by noknockback



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: I Don't Even Know, M/M, but also lots of Gay thoughts from hirugami's end, just hoshiumi and hirugami being dorks and messing around, they try 36 questions to fall in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:07:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23186761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noknockback/pseuds/noknockback
Summary: Hirugami and Hoshiumi attempt the 36 questions that lead to love.
Relationships: Hirugami Sachirou/Hoshiumi Kourai
Comments: 10
Kudos: 122





	Dancing on a the Head of a Pin

**Author's Note:**

> this is going out so late im sorry... but yes have this fic i wrote as a present for everyone for being so so so kind to me ever since i joined anitwt!! this one's dedicated especially to the hiruhoshi groupchat, who have given me so many reasons to laugh even when i am down ❤  
> enjoy!

“Hey, Kourai-kun, do you want to try out this thing I found?” Hirugami asks, eyeing the white haired boy who's sitting on the other side of the kotatsu. It’s winter break and they’re hanging out at Hoshiumi’s house as they always do, revelling in the presence of each other. 

“Huh? Yeah sure, but after this episode, it’s Killuas arc and I need to know how this ends.” Hirugami hums in acknowledgement and turns his attention back to his phone, back to the article that’s displayed. 

_ The 36 Questions That Leave to Love _

He had only read through it briefly once, thinking that it would be fun to try out with Hoshiumi, just to see what the results would be. 

A large, rational part of him knows that nothing much would come out of this, apart from maybe learning a little more about each other. He isn’t doing this to get it to work. It’s just for fun, to pass the time. 

But a tiny, extraordinarily miniscule part of him desperately hopes that these questions do what they claim to. 

He’s been pining– well, not pining, exactly, he hasn't actually  _ done _ anything or expressed attraction towards hoshiumi in any obvious way so scared is he of ruining their friendship. The most he lets himself do is to constantly look out for the other, which he easily disguises as something out of friendship. 

He's been in love with the boy ever since... Hirugami can’t put a finger on when exactly he realised. Over time, he just felt himself growing more and more attracted to the boy and when he classified his feelings as such, he found that he didn’t mind it. 

_ Being in love with Kourai-kun. _

Despite not doing this to get the promised results, he can’t help but wonder if it would be successful. 

The study said it was done between strangers who had never met... and was it even with the intention of falling in love? Would it work better with them since they already know each other? There was someone else who tried this and it had worked, but they already had some interest in each other, so maybe that’s another element that he has to factor in. Would it still work if the attraction was one-sided but not definitely unrequited? Would it–

–Right. He has to stop doing that. The whole overthinking thing. 

He promised himself to stop that ever since Hoshiumi had taught him how to relax and let go of things that fateful day in middle school. 

_ It’s just for fun. Nothing is going to come out of it, _ he tells himself this, attempting to lower his bar of expectation of what the outcome would be. Whether it worked or not, he’s pretty sure Hoshiumi will still remain as his best friend at the end, and that's all that mattered. As long as he doesn’t tell him what the point of the questions was, everything would be fine. 

“Okay, Sachirou, let’s do it! What is it anyway? Is it a competition? Because I’ll definitely win!” Hoshiumi’s self declaration of victory elicits a sigh out of hirugami, not understanding his friend’s obsession with winning everything even if it wasn't a competition. 

“No, Kourai-kun, it’s not a competition. It’s just a bunch of questions to ask each other–”

“Are there points involved?!” Hoshiumi smacks the table and leans forward. 

Hirugami sends his friend a deadpan look.  _ Why are you like this _ , he wants to ask, but lets himself be patient with the boy and goes, “No, Kourai-kun, there are no points involved, I just said this isn’t a competition.” 

“I was just joking, Sachirou. You take everything too literally.” Hoshiumi shakes his head and tuts disapprovingly, as if Hirugami was the one being ridiculous. 

He just wants to jump on the kotatsu and strangle the hell out of Hoshiumi. 

_ Why do I even like him. There is definitely something wrong with me _ . 

But he also can't help but smile when Hoshiumi leans in and goes “So, what are the questions?”

“They come in three sets, so we can take turns to read them.” Hirugami opens a new note on his phone and pastes the questions from the article there, so that Hoshiumi can’t read the headline and realise his intentions of doing this. 

“Let’s start with the first one: given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?” 

“Yoshihiro Togashi, so he can tell me everything about the plot and I wouldn’t have to watch so many episodes!” Hoshiumi yells immediately. 

Hirugami just stares at him, though not surprised at his choice. Hoshiumi catches his gaze and squints back at him. 

“You’re judging me, aren't you Sachirou. Ok, fine, maybe Ishikawa Yuki, so he can teach me how to jump even higher and spike better!” 

The line that Hirugami’s lips sit in curves upwards.  _ Typical Kourai-kun, always aiming to improve himself no matter what situation he’s in. _

“Sachirou, your turn!” 

_ Honestly, I’d just choose Kourai-kun, but..  _

“Hachikou–”

“YOU CAN'T CHOOSE A DOG, THE QUESTION SAID A PERSON!”

“–-and his owner, Hidesaburo Ueno-san.” He finishes. 

“You’re only interested in his dog.” Accuses Hoshiumi. He shrugs in response. 

“Well, yeah.” 

Hirugami snorts when Hoshiumi rolls his eyes, and turns his gaze back to the phone. “Next question, would you like to be famous and in what way?”

“Hm, I don’t know if I  _ want  _ to be famous, but I'm aiming for the top so maybe!” Hoshiumi sends a grin in Hirugami’s direction. “Sachirou, you’re lucky! Your family is already famous, so it’s easy for you to become well known too!”

Hirugami feels himself cringing away from that idea, reminding him of a legacy that he doesn’t particularly want to carry on.

“No, I don’t think I want to be famous like nee-san or nii-san. I don’t think I could handle so much attention on me.” He tries his best to appear nonchalant about the whole thing and not show that he’s been having sleepless nights because of all the pressure of him continuing the family legacy.

“Your skills should be given more attention! But if you say so,” Hoshiumi replies. 

_ The only attention I need is from you, Kourai-kun. _

“All right, next one. Before making a telephone call, do you ever rehearse what you are going to say? Why?” Hirugami scoffs and speaks again before Hoshiumi can reply. “I’m answering this for you. Definitely not, because you rarely ever call anyone anyway, and when you call me all you say is nonsense, so.”

“Oi!'' Hoshiumi cries out indignantly at this and extends his legs out from where they’re crossed under him in an attempt to kick hirugami from under the kotatsu, but the other boy already predicted this and draws his own legs back in to avoid the kick.

“I know  _ you  _ don’t, Sachirou, because you told me before that you don’t like to overthink things and just go with the flow.” Surprisingly hoshiumi doesn’t make a snarky remark back. Hirugami nods in affirmation.

“Question four, what would constitute a perfect day for you?”

Hoshiumi tilts his head and hums thoughtfully. “Doing my best at practice and having people compliment me on my playing and not look down on me because of my height!”

A small smile crosses Hirugami’s face, because what else would he expect from Hoshiumi. 

“Same,” he says, a little too quickly, what with his immediate thought being  _ seeing Kourai-kun happy is enough for me _ .

“Doing well at practice, I mean. Okay question five, when did you last sing to yourself and to someone else?”

Hirugami can’t actually remember the last time he sang to himself. As for in front of each other, it’s probably that time last year when they went for karaoke, and– oh god. Hoshiumi's singing… 

Hirugami had wanted to believe that Hoshiumi had a nice voice, but the shorter sadly refused to do anything but scream at the top of his lungs for every single song he chose, thus dashing Hirugami’s fantasies of being serenaded by him with sweet love songs in the middle of the night. 

He glances at the white haired boy, whose lips are curved in a mischievous smirk. 

“Right now,” he says, in answer to the question, confusing hirugami for a split second until he sucks in a deep breath of air and hirugami gets what he's doing.

“NO– no, stop it Kourai-kun, I don't want to hear your horrible rendition of wrecking ball, not again.” 

There’s a huff that comes from Hoshiumi instead of the painful screeching that was the result of hirugami not checking the song list and giving him free reign on the karaoke mic and song list. Never again. His ears have suffered enough from that single time.

“Damn you, Sachirou!” Hoshiumi curses at him, though void of any malice. Hirugami ignores him and moves on to the next question. 

“Question six: if you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the mind or body of a 30-year-old for the last 60 years of your life, which would you want?” 

“My body!” Is Hoshiumi’s immediate reply. “So I can continue playing volleyball forever!” 

Hirugami rolls his eyes, having expected him to say that. “I don’t think you’d want to play volleyball for  _ ever _ ,” he tries to reason, but the shorter isn't listening and instead goes on about how he’s definitely sure that no matter how much his mind aged, he would never forget how to play volleyball. He continues talking about how 30 years old was the peak age for most professional volleyball players, which Hirugami isn't sure is true, but he stops listening halfway through. 

Imagining himself playing volleyball for the rest of his life, to have it as a career — Hirugami doesnt think he could ever live like that. There’s something else that he has in mind, but he hasn’t told anybody about it and isn't sure he’s ready to just yet.

“What about you, Sachirou?” Hoshiumi’s sudden address snaps him out of his thoughts once more.

“Body too, I guess. Even if you could live until 90, there’s no guarantee you’ll be perfectly healthy, so I’d rather my mind age than my body and have to live with all sorts of ailments.” 

Hirugami scrolls to the next few questions, crossing out the ones that they've finished. “Question seven, do you have a secret hunch about how you will die?”

Ah, he knows his answer to this one. It’s something he's always thought of as a kid, and as childish it may be, he still liked the idea of it very much. 

“When I’m older,” he says, I’ll own fifty dogs, and one day when I come home they'll all jump on me and I’ll get suffocated under them but I will die happy.” 

Hoshiumi on the other hand obviously hasn't given this question much thought before. Which is normal actually; Hirugami was the weird one imagining himself dying by suffocation by dogs. 

Only after a while does he finally answer, “Maybe one day I’ll become so good at volleyball that people will send hitmen after me because there's no other way to defeat me!” 

There’s a smug expression on his face, as if this is something that would actually happen. Hirugami holds himself back from facepalming into the table and instead moves on to the next question. 

“I doubt that'll ever happen, but okay. Next, name three things you and your partner appear to have in common. Well, we both like volleyball,” he glances up at Hoshiumi as an indication for him to continue.

“We’re both from kamomedai!” 

“We both like vanilla ice cream,” he finishes. “Question nine, for what in your life do you feel most grateful for? You can go first, Kourai-kun.”

“My mom!” Hoshiumi answers without hesitation, sitting up and eyes sparkling at the thought of the most important woman in his life. “She was there for me from the very beginning and is my biggest supporter! I wouldn’t be anywhere I am today without her!”

Hirugami smiles at his words, finding his unfaltering love and appreciation for his mother endearing. “For me, it would definitely have to be you, Kourai-kun.” 

The aforementioned boy perks up in surprise and looks at him with a questioning look. 

“You saved me, back then. When you pulled me back from the wall and taught me an important lesson on learning how to relax and let go of my mistakes.” He feels his lips curl upwards at the thought of that fond memory. He looks at his phone to read out the next question and doesn’t notice the way Hoshiumi stays silent, or the way his cheeks become tinted with a light shade of pink and the bob of his Adam’s apple as he swallows.

“Question ten, if you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be? I think we both wouldn’t change anything, right?” He sees the nod and moves on to the next question.

“Take four minutes and- oh, we can skip this one. Last question of the set, if you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or ability, what would it be?”

Well as if that isn't obvious enough.

“Height!” Comes the expected exclamation from Hoshiumi. “I want to be taller than gao so that I can laugh at him! Butjust for one day and not forever.”

Hirugami’s always thought invisibility was cool, even though he wasn’t really sure how it would work exactly, with clothes still being visible and all. Still, he answers gives that as his answer.

“Oh, the first set is done. Here, you can read the second set, Kourai-kun.” Hirugami crosses out the last question before handing his phone to the boy, who starts reading out the first question enthusiastically.

“If a crystal ball could tell you the truth about yourself, your life, the future, or anything else, what would you want to know? I’d want to know if we win nationals! Or if we play against Hinata Shouyou again!”

Hinata Shouyou… Hirugami can’t help but feel a little surge of annoyance every time he hears that name. He didn’t by any means dislike the boy, he barely even knew him, after all. But meeting him at nationals last year had been the first time in a long time that Hoshiumi had been so passionate about something, about some _ one _ — even if it was really only because he was obsessed with beating him. Hirugami felt jealous at the attention Hoshiumi gave the random first year they met at nationals last year, and can’t help but do the same whenever he’s mentioned now. 

“Sachirou, what about you?” Again, his thoughts are cut through by Hoshiumi’s words.

_ I’d want to know if these questions really do what they say. _

“I’d want to see if I get any more dogs in the future,” he says instead, though it isn’t a complete lie because he truly would want to know if he adopted any more furry companions. 

“Question fourteen! Is there something that you’ve dreamed of doing for a long time? Why haven’t you done it?” Hirugami watches as Hoshiumi’s face scrunches up for a split second, as if his answer to the question was something unpleasant. 

“There is, but I can’t say it.” he mutters after a moment. 

_ Tell Kourai-kun my feelings _ , Hirugami answers internally. Obviously he can’t say that, at least not before the whole thing is over. 

“Same with me.” Hirugami hums. It looks like they both aren’t going to elaborate on that point, so Hoshiumi moves on to the next question. 

“What’s the greatest accomplishment of your life?”

“Being able to overcome my slump back then. It really changed my whole life afterwards and made me become a much better person.” He doesn't mention that all of it was thanks to Hoshiumi.

“Mine has to be proving to people that being short doesn’t immediately equal incompetence or ineptitude!” He smiles smugly, then moves on to the next question. “What do you value most in a friendship? Trust! Respect!” 

Hirugami hums in agreement to all of those, adding on, “Treating each other as equals and helping each other out.” 

“What is your most treasured memory? and terrible memory?” Hoshiumi tilts his head and answers without hesitation. “My most treasured memory was the first time my mom brought me to a volleyball match and I saw so many awesome spikes in real life! My most terrible memory… Oh! When Akitomo broke a vase trying to show that he could spike better than me, but then blamed it on me! My volleyball got confiscated for a week and I wasn’t allowed to do anything volleyball-related at home for that week too!” 

A sour look crosses Hoshiumi’s face as he talks about his older brother. Hirugami recalls hearing this story before. Hoshiumi had also avoided his brother for that whole week, but they reconciled in the end when Akitomo managed to get his hands on two V. League tickets for them. 

_ When Kourai-kun taught me that it was okay if I quit, that no one is going to die if I mess up _ , is all Hirugami can think of as an answer when he hears “most treasured memory”, but opts for giving something else as his reply. 

“Getting Hikaru-chan is probably my most treasured memory. Most terrible, when we were at the beach and she almost drowned because she tried to get our volleyball that was in the water.” Hirugami shudders at the recollection, remembering just how hard he had cried that day, his small hands clutching furiously to the matted, shivering mass of wet fur as he hoped with all his heart that she was going to be okay. 

In the end there wasn't much damage done, just that they had to monitor her breathing and keep her warm. He remembers how the veterinarian had pulled out a chair to let Hirugami sit beside her, and wrote him a list of things to do to ensure Hikaru-chan recovered well. 

She then whispered to him that she was telling  _ him _ this and not his parents, because she could see just how much he loved Hikaru-chan and had faith that he could take good care of her.

Being entrusted with such an important task despite his young age, not being treated like a child and instead a responsible equal, and by someone who held such a profession no less, of course had an immense impact on Hirugami. To this day he still has that strip of paper with the instructions, written in hiragana so child him would understand. 

So perhaps that would also constitute as one of his most treasured memories, but looking at the white haired boy sitting in front of him, almost drowning in the oversized sweater that looks strangely familiar, Hirugami thinks that nothing can ever surpass the day he called out to him. He smiles and asks Hoshiumi to continue reading the questions.

“If you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are now living? Why?” Hoshiumi wastes no time thinking and answers, “I wouldn’t change anything. I’m happy with the way things are now.”

Hirugami feels the same way. “I wouldn’t change anything, exactly, but I might.. finally do the thing I’ve been wanting to do for a long time.” 

_ Confess to you. _

Hoshiumi hums in acknowledgement but doesn’t press further.

“What does friendship mean to you?” Hoshiumi turns his gaze to Hirugami. “I like what we have!”

Hirugami feels his heart sink.

“You’re always there to listen to me, except when I give motivational speeches, and you’re someone I can trust with everything!” Hoshiumi grins at him, and Hirugami thanks the heavens that it’s cold now, providing an excuse for his red tinted cheeks. 

But at the same time, he can but feel his heart clench painfully in his chest.  _ Kourai-kun likes what we have… our  _ friendship _. There's no way I can ruin that for him. _

He plasters on a forced smile and goes, “Yeah, same.”

“Question twenty-one, what roles do love and affection play in your life?”

“If it’s familial and friendship then very important, and affection, too, to show that they care or I care about them. Romantic love,” Hirugami can't help but glance at Hoshiumi as he says this, “Is important, but I’m happy with what I have now.”

Hoshiumi nods, agreeing with him.

“Same! Friends and family should come before romance. Next question, alternate sharing something you consider a positive characteristic of your partner and share a total of five items.”

“You have hair,” Hirugami blurts out without thinking. Hoshiumi shouts at him and kicks his leg again, making him laugh and go, “Kidding, kidding. You always have a very positive outlook on life.”

“Hm. You have a nice smile.”

Hirugami feels his heartbeat quicken, but reminds himself that these are just positive characteristics. not necessarily something that hoshiumi likes about him.

“You have nice eyes. Unique eyes,” he finds himself saying anyway, watching carefully for Hoshiumi’s reaction. The boy in question just blinks and grins back at him.

“Thanka, Sachirou! You’re very smart and don’t mind helping me with school work.”

“Your confidence never wavers even if people try to put you down.”

“You have a muscular body!”

He suddenly feels self conscious of himself and resists the urge to look down. Has Hoshiumi been noticing that every time they changed? 

“Uh, you always strive for the best and to improve yourself no matter what situation you’re in.”

“You can always keep calm in stressful situations!” 

_ That was all your doing, Kourai-kun _ .

“Your confidence is never baseless but you also know when to stay humble.”

“Your always seem to know what to say whenever I'm having troubles!” 

“Okay, that’s five qualities. Next question?”

“How close and warm is your family? Do you feel your childhood was happier than most other people’s? My family is very close and warm! I don’t know if my childhood was happier than other people’s, but I was happy! Other than when Akitomo would tease me!”

“Yeah, same. It was a bit stressful to have to live up to people’s expectations of being an excellent volleyball player like everyone else, but I enjoy playing, and thanks to you I never quit the sport.” 

Hoshiumi huffs up in pride upon hearing this.

“Question twenty-four, oh, it’s the last question in the set. How do you feel about your relationship with your mother?” 

“We’re close, but definitely not as close as you and your own mother. She’s always out travelling with her team so we don’t spend that much time together, but she always makes an effort to spend time with me when she is home.”

“I love my mother a lot! She’s my biggest support pillar in the whole wide world! She listens to all my troubles and always helps me out with them! She’s the most important person in the world to me.”

Hoshiumi shuffles from sitting opposite of Hirugami to beside him and hands the phone back to him. “The last set,” he explains.

“We’ll take turns reading them, then. Question twenty-five, make three true “we” statements each. For instance, “we are both in this room feeling…” I’ll go first, we are both feeling cold.”

“We both like volleyball!”

“We both go to kamomedai.”

“We both have an older brother.”

“We both love your mom’s cooking.”

“Her food is the best!” Hoshiumi affirms proudly. “We both like Hikaru-chan!” 

Hirugami smiles at the thought of his dog back at home. “Yeah.” He puts the phone down on the kotatsu so they both can see the questions.

“Complete this sentence: “I wish I had someone with whom I could share…” My love for my dad’s manga! My mom always says it’s weird but it isn’t! But I know no one who reads them!” 

Hirugami can't help but chuckle at this. Hoshiumi always had a weird obsession with his dad’s collection of old manga, but he himself was never interested. “I wish I had someone with whom I could share the pain of having to watch nee-san and her boyfriend be all lovey-dovey in the living room. I can't even watch tv without seeing them do all that cute couple-y stuff.”

“Then you should just get a girlfriend and do it back to them!” Hoshiumi suggests, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Hirugami almost gags at the thought of getting a girlfriend.

“Yeah, not happening.” He reads the next one and figures they can skip it. “Question twenty-eight, tell your partner what you like about them; be very honest this time, saying things that you might not say to someone you’ve just met.” 

The first thought that comes to hirugami’s head is  _ everything _ , but he obviously can’t say that. “I like your eyes. They’re very special in their colour and shape, and–”  _ they’re mesmerizing to look at _ “–they’re cool.” 

Again, Hoshiumi flashes his teeth at this. “Thanks, Sachirou! I love my eyes too, they’re inherited from my mom! I really like the way you smile!” Hirugami’s given no time to process this before the boy hastily grabs the phone and reads the next question.

“Next question! Share with your partner an embarrassing moment in your life." Hoshiumi groans. "When we were younger, Akitomo told me that kids my age weren't allowed to wear shoes on the bus, so I believed him for the longest time until my mom saw me that wasn't true." HIrugami snorts at the image of innocent young Hoshiumi carrying his shoes while taking the bus.

“When I was in elementary school and my friends asked who my celebrity crush was, I couldn’t think of anyone so I just said Hachikou.” Hoshiumi bursts out laughing and HIrugami moves on to the next question before he could get made fun of. _It hasn't changed since then, though._

“When did you last cry in front of another person? By yourself?”

“You cried when we were watching A Dog’s Tale last week!”

“Shut up Kourai-kun, you cried too.”

“But that’s what the question was asking for!”

“Whatever, just read the next one.” He doesn't want to think about how he teared up during the film — sure, they watch it religiously every month, but that doesn't make it any less sad. 

“Fine, fine. Tell your partner something that you like about them already. What do they mean by 'already'?”

“I think this was meant for strangers, skip it.” 

“Okay. What, if anything, is too serious to be joked about?”

“Death.”

“Mm, yeah. Here." Hoshiumi shifts the phone to face him.

"If you were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with anyone, what would you most regret not having told someone? Why haven’t you told them?”

“I haven’t told them because I’m scared of how they’ll react. And I don’t want to make things weird.”

“Oh." That's... exactly the same as the answer Hirugami would have given. "Me too, actually.”

“Question thirty-four: your house, containing everything you own, catches fire. After saving your loved ones and pets, you have time to safely make a final dash to save any one item. What would it be? Why?”

"I'd save the money in my safe, I guess."

"I'd save our family photobook!"

“Of all the people in your family, whose death would you find most disturbing? Why?”

“My mom.” of course. this goes without explanation.

“I think mine would be my dad. He's the only one who never pressured me about anything and let me choose my own path, so it would be weird to not have him around anymore.”

“Last question! Share a personal problem and ask your partner’s advice on how he or she might handle it. Also, ask your partner to reflect back to you how you seem to be feeling about the problem you have chosen.”

“Let’s skip this one.”

It’s not that Hirugami wants to hurry up and reach the end to see if the questions really did what they claimed to do, even though he _does_ desperately want to see the results. 

The bigger reason behind him skipping the question is because the problem that has been bugging him for the past few months still isn’t something he’s ready to talk about yet. It’s only the beginning of their third year, so he’s still got some time to think about it himself before finally having to bring it up to people. 

“Huh? But this one isn’t just for strangers-”

“Never mind, just skip it and go to the last part.”

“Okay, if you insist. This one’s not a question, it says,” there's a pause as H oshimi reads over the instructions. This is the only part of the quiz that Hirugami had thoroughly read and made sure that when he copied it over from the article, he didn't include the part that mentioned falling in love.

“It says we have to stare into each other's eyes for four minutes. Is this a staring contest, Sachirou? Because you know I’ll win!”

Hirugami brings up a hand to rub his temples.

“No, Kourai-kun, this isn’t a staring competition. You’re allowed to blink.”

“Oh, okay.” Hoshiumi scoots across the corner of the kotatsu and settles right beside Hirugami, who’s heart almost catches in his throat at their close proximity. 

It’s not like they’ve never been this close ever before, and there have been times where the distance between them was even less than now, but in this situation, with them about to do final test of the quiz and see if it really works— well, you really can't blame him for being nervous.

He turns to face the shorter, seeing him set the phone down on the kotatsu again and say, “I set a timer for four minutes. Ready?”

Hirugami swallows dryly. 

“Yeah.”

Hoshiumi presses start.

He turns back and startles Hirugami with the intensity of his stare, making him forget about his nerves, and instead almost makes him laugh. His shoulders relax and he lets out a small breath, feeling calm enough to properly appreciate Hoshiumi's eyes for how special they are.

It’s no secret that Hirugami likes Hoshiumi’s eyes — he had even mentioned it several times just now — but no one really knew just how much he loved those eyes. He’s never had a chance to stare at the other’s eyes so closely like this, finding himself falling even deeper into those golden orbs. 

People say that eyes are the window to your soul, and while that may not necessarily be true for some people, it describes Hoshiumi’s exactly. Their expressiveness that makes any onlooker privy to his feelings — how they glisten when he's excited over something, how they turn dull when someone insults something he loves, how they narrowed sharply whenever he gives someone a lecture on how being short did not equal incompetence. 

And the corners of his eyes, two little dots that everyone confused with eyeliner but were actually real, the features that made his eyes more special than anyone else’s. He’s always wanted to run a thumb across his cheeks, to trace over what everyone thought was eyeliner, to brush gently against the thicker ends, to cup his face and–  


God, what is he thinking. Does he really think that this quiz, this list of questions and staring into each other’s eyes, would make them magically fall in love, just like that?

Who is he kidding. In the article he read, the people who performed the quiz already had some sort of affinity to each other. The lady who wrote the article even said she was sure it wasn’t totally one-sided. 

But how is Hirugami supposed to know if that’s the case now? It’s not like he could just ask, _hey Kourai-kun, are you interested in me?_ without immediately making things weird. 

And anyway, it’s too late, since they’ve already done the quiz, and are halfway through the very last segment. 

He lets out a defeated sigh.

He isn’t even really sure if Hoshiumi likes guys. They never really talked about girls, but that’s because it wasn’t a topic that came up between them often. The only time that Hirugami can remember was in the first year of high school, when he was trying to gauge Hoshiumi’s reaction to him pointing out that a girl was cute. But that only elicited a hum from the shorter, who hadn't even bothered to look at the girl he was talking about, and the topic was never raised after that. 

Maybe he already has someone else in mind? He did give some answers that seemed strangely similar to Hirugami's own that were jabs at their situation.

Though if he really _does_ have someone in mind, then as his best friend and confidant, surely Hirugami would have been informed, right? So maybe Hoshiumi is just uninterested in general—

“Sachirou! Sachirouuuu.” 

He feels his legs under the kotatsu being kicked lightly. The boy beside him holds up the phone in front of him, the timer showing 00:00.

“Times up! Sachirou, did you know your eyes are really, really brown? And that it’s super cool to watch your pupils become bigger and smaller! We should try that again some time.”

Nothing seems to be that different… but he has to at least make sure.

“Kourai-kun, do you feel anything different?”

“Hm? No, why?” The white haired boy turns to look at him, then gasps suddenly. “Sachirou! Were you doing something with your eyes? Were you trying to hypnotise me?!” He looks so scandalised that Hirugami wants to burst out laughing, but his heart has sunken so far down that he doesn't think he can even manage a chuckle. 

_ Guess it really didn’t work… _

“What didn’t work? Sachirou, answer me!” Hoshiumi brings his hands down on the table in a mock slam, demanding to know. 

_ Shit. Did I say that out loud? _

Hirugami feels his face contort into an expression of discomfort at the thought of telling him, but Hoshiumi presses on stubbornly, going so far as to leaning right into his space and muttering under his breath, “Tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me.”

Hirugami knows that he won’t stop until he tells him. He really,  _ really _ doesn’t want to, but he has to unless he wants his friend to ignore him out of pettiness for the next day or two. 

He just hopes that their friendship is strong enough to see this through if it ends in a complete failure.

“The questions,” he starts quietly, getting Hoshiumi to move back and let him speak, “were supposed to make two people fall in love in the end.”

Silence. 

Hoshiumi’s expression turns blank as he processes this information. 

_ Make people fall in love… didn’t work… I’ve basically told him everything! _ Hirugami thinks, feeling like punching himself for being such an idiot.  _ Why did I even do this in the first place, there’s no way it would’ve ever worked. I should have just been happy with our friendship and not try something so stupid and reckless. But no, I just  _ had _to do it, and now I've ruined everything._

His hands move to cover his face, but before they can reach and hide his eyes from the world, Hoshiumi speaks.

“Of course it didn’t work.”

Hirugami feels his blood run cold and wonders for a split second whether he was going to get the ultimate rejection of a lifetime.

_ Here it comes, _ he thinks, preparing himself for heartbreak.

But it doesn’t come.

“It wasn’t going to work, because— I _already_ like you, so there’s no way it could make me fall in— in love with you.” 

He stutters over his words, but the effect it has on Hirugami is all the same.

Ever so slowly, like a small animal coming out of hiding, Hirugami turns his face away from his palms and towards Hoshiumi. He sees the reddened cheeks of the boy, which definitely has not been caused by the cold, and the way his eyes glisten with nervousness but also… excitement?

And then the words start to sink in.

_ Kourai-kun… just said he that likes me… _

“What?” he asks anyway, but there’s a smile slowly forming on his lips as the implications of his words settle into his skin.

“I  _ said, _ ” Hoshiumi repeats, and he, too, has realised that Hirugami had connected the dots, visible from the way his lips curve upwards as he speaks. “I don’t need a bunch of questions to fall in love with you. I already have.”

He’s leaning closer to Hirugami, once again invading his personal space, but he finds that this time he doesn't mind, despite his heart rate increasing as the boy draws nearer. 

A mischievous look twinkles in his eyes as Hoshiumi’s face comes so close that he can feel the breath of the other boy against his lips. 

“Can I kiss you?”

Hirugami tilts his head so that their foreheads are touching.

“Of course.”

And he does.

**Author's Note:**

> [here](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/11/style/modern-love-to-fall-in-love-with-anyone-do-this.html) is the article of the 36 questions  
> and [here](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/07/style/modern-love-36-questions-divorce.html?action=click&module=RelatedCoverage&pgtype=Article&region=Footer) is another article on 13 questions that lead to divorce bc its really funny im sorry


End file.
